1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method of manufacturing colored, patterned, areal textile structures, to a system for carrying out the method, and to a flat textile structure manufactured in accordance with the method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For the manufacturing of fabric using weaving technology with a pair of warp threads and a plurality of weft threads, a method is known in which first of all a basic weft and subsequently one or more embroidery wefts of different color are inserted in a selectable sequence into an embroidery weft line, i.e. are inserted into the weaving shed with the apparatus for the cloth take-off switched off and are interlaced by a warp thread. For the design of the loom this signifies that the apparatus for the cloth take-off must be switched off for the insertion of the embroidery weft or wefts, so that the switched transmission required for this is subject to a high dynamic loading and an electronically controlled device, for example with a servomotor, does not satisfy the requirements, and so that weft thread spools must be made available at the loom in dependence on the number of colors provided in the fabric. The restriction of the speed of rotation of the loom proves disadvantageous in addition to the technical cost and complexity and the high number of weft spools with threads of different color. In order to reduce the number of weft threads a further method has become known for the manufacture of such fabrics in which for example a basic weft F and three embroidery wefts with the colors blue, green and red are likewise inserted in an embroidery weft line and are interlaced by a warp thread and form a color cell (FIG. 1). It is pointed out that the number of embroidery wefts is not restricted. In this arrangement the embroidery wefts are inserted with the apparatus for the cloth take-off switched off. This method has the disadvantage that the fabric becomes voluminous. The disadvantages named above likewise result for the loom.
The above mentioned methods have moreover the common disadvantage that, depending on the fabric pattern, weft threads float at the rear side of the fabric, and as rule the length of the floating weft threads increases with the number of the colored weft threads.
If, in the known method, label tapes are manufactured from a broad web, then a large number of weft threads, and accordingly a large thread mass, must be cut through for the edge formation. This has the disadvantages that a high and thick brew of differing color mixture is produced at the edge of the label and a higher cutting performance is required.
A method of Jaquard weaving of a colored material is known from DE-A44 38 535. This method relates to a use of the grid methods known from printing technology with a return of the colors of the pattern to the basic colors. The representation to be woven is split up into grid points of the colors yellow, red, and blue, and also into black and white, and the material is woven from weavable points of these colors and brightness.
It has been found that on weaving with weft threads in the colors yellow, red and blue, it is not possible to achieve a color mixture as in color printing and, moreover, the number of colors is restricted. In color printing the colors are printed one after the other, whereas in weaving color cells are formed by the weft threads and the weave.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is an improved method of manufacturing of colored, patterned areal textile structures.
According to the method of the invention the weaving technology is used with warp threads and at least four weft threads. Weft threads are used in the basic colors red, blue and yellow and in an additional color, in particular green. A color cell is formed in which four weft threads in the elementary colors red, green, blue and yellow are inserted in a specific constant sequence and are interlaced by one of the warp threads. A color impression is produced in the cell depending on the selection of the warp threads with respect to color, and depending on the interlacing of the weft threads by the warp threads. The insertion of four weft threads with different colors in the same sequence signifies for the weaving machine an advantageous and significant simplification such that, on the one hand, only four weft thread cones are required and, on the other hand, a switching off of the apparatus for the cloth take-off is avoided, so that the loom can be operated at a high speed of rotation, for example 2000 revolutions/minute. Through the respective interlacing of the weft threads, a specific color impression is produced in the color cell. The color intensity is determined by the combination of the float length of the weft thread over the warp threads and via the respective color of the warp thread which reaches the visible surface. In combination with a warp thread of a specific color, cells can be produced with fourteen different colors. It is of advantage when two warp threads of different color and a weft thread float of up to seven cells are used per cell, because in this way an areal textile structure with up to one hundred and ninety six color impressions can be produced. The color impressions are provided with a code and stored in a color scale so that the user can select the desired color impression in an advantageous and simple manner without technical interlacing manipulations. The number of color impressions can be increased by using a higher number of weft threads. Whereas the one warp thread interlaces the weft threads in accordance with the color impression to be produced, other warp threads can be interlaced at the rear side of the fabric. This has the advantage that the floating of the weft thread is eliminated.